St. James Teacher Saves Man's Life With CPR

ST. JAMES, NY — Richard Savicki, a fourth grade teacher at St. James Elementary School, saved a man's life.

Savicki recently helped save 65-year-old Michael Gibson's life at a track event in Port Jefferson, the Smithtown School District said. Gibson suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed. Savicki performed CPR on Gibson, who lost his heartbeat for 10 minutes.

Savicki's actions kept him alive as Suffolk police and Terryville Fire Department paramedics arrived. Responders applied an automated chest compressor and used an automated external defibrillator.

Gibson woke up in the ambulance on the way to Mather Hospital, where the staff in the new cardiac catheterization lab discovered severe coronary artery disease.

Gibson was transferred to South Shore University Hospital where he underwent a quadruple bypass.

Last Thursday, Savicki was among those honored at a press conference at South Shore hospital, where he reunited with Gibson for the first time since the incident.